‘A significant impact’: National Guard wraps up first year of deployment to DC
WASHINGTON — The presence of the National Guard on the streets of the nation’s capital in the past year has become a normal part of life in the city. More than 9,700 troops overall from more than 20 states and territories have been rotated through D.C. as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to reduce crime. “We’re driving toward zero crime,” Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard II, the interim commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, told reporters on Aug. 3. “Our Guardsmen have provided 788 medical assists … we united 43 lost children with families, supported law enforcement 479 times in the course of their duties, (and) intervened in 262 altercations before they further escalated,” he said. Yet it remains unclear if the efforts outweigh the costs of the mission, part of which has included landscaping work and trash pickup. The Congressional Budget Office projected in January that the D.C. deployments cost about $55 million per month; that would put the total cost from August 2025 through this September at more than $700 million. An additional projected cost from October 2026 through January 2029, the end of Trump’s term, could be about $1.43 billion, according to Pentagon comptroller Jules Hurst III, who provided the number in response to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. On Aug. 11 of last year, Trump called for a crackdown on crime and ordered 800 D.C. National Guard troops to deploy throughout the city. “We’re taking our capital back,” he said during a news conference at the White House, flanked by administration officials. Crime statistics had been trending downward at the time, D.C. police said: Violent crime decreased by 26% compared to the prior year. The D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that violent crime in the city in 2024 was at a 30-year low. The first troops arrived in the city on Aug. 12, and all 800 troops called to duty arrived on Aug. 14. That total quickly grew to nearly 2,000, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the National Guard to carry weapons. Troops use their weapons only when necessary to “preserve human life,” Blanchard told reporters. Trump’s move to take federal control of Washington came days after a former Department of Government Efficiency employee was attacked during an attempted carjacking. D.C. police confirmed the victim was Edward Coristine, who was one of the original DOGE staffers. In addition to the Guard troops, there also was an increased presence from other federal agencies, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Guard personnel have been spread across tourist corridors, transit hubs such as Union Station, federal buildings, monuments, parks and public spaces. “I hear people tell me on the streets, ‘It’s been a long time since I came to this part of the neighborhood,’ ” Blanchard said. “I hear a lot of people telling me, ‘I never would have come to Union Station,’ and now they’re out there taking family photos. I have so many experiences that motivate me each and every day.” The troops deployed can detain citizens but have no authority to make arrests. The mission has not come without risks. The day before Thanksgiving, two West Virginia National Guard members were attacked by an Afghan national. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom was shot and killed; Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe was wounded. Federal officials and law enforcement described the incident as a planned, targeted attack. The gunman accused of the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has pleaded not guilty to the nine charges against him — including first-degree murder. Joint Task Force-District of Columbia has shared many news releases throughout the deployment. Some included a D.C. National Guardsman stopping an assault on the National Mall days into the mission, troops assisting with snow efforts in January and Georgia National Guard soldiers helping reunite a lost dog with its owner. However, the task force has not been able to provide information regarding how the troops are reducing crime. Property crime dropped by nearly a quarter following the surge of troops, but the deployment had little to no effect on violent crimes, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington. Violent crime rose by 3%. “It was an expensive tool deployed in the wrong places for the wrong types of crime,” the Niskanen Center reported in May, comparing the average daily cost of $607 to employ a Guard member in D.C. with the $384 for Metropolitan Police Department officers. One explanation given for the negligible impact the deployment had on violent crime is that such offenses are “more deeply rooted in interpersonal dynamics, social network conflicts and the more structural conditions of high-poverty neighborhoods.” “A uniformed presence in tourist corridors and transit hubs is unlikely to interrupt a dispute between individuals with preexisting ties on their own turf,” the report said. “The Guard’s footprint was simply misaligned with the geography of violence.” Blanchard said the report showed “there’s a positive impact” on crime where Guard members are present. Troops recently started patrolling Starburst Plaza in northeast D.C. After a spike in opioid overdoses, the Metropolitan Police Department at the end of July established a temporary drug-free zone. During a visit to the area Aug. 1, Blanchard said he observed an Air National Guard member administering Narcan and “saving a life on the scene.” “A few minutes later, a young teenager rode by on his scooter, stopped and said, ‘I’ve never seen this place so clean,’ ” Blanchard said. “We have definitely seen a significant impact there. I think we’re going to continue to bring that impact across the city as we expand.” The White House says the National Guard has driven down crime and “improved the quality of life” for citizens. “President Trump has transformed D.C. from a crime-ridden city into a safe and beautiful haven for residents and visitors alike,” the White House said in a statement. “The task force will remain nimble and responsive to needs across the city as new challenges present themselves.” The National Guard Bureau in June awarded a $292 million contract to Placemakr to provide up to 2,000 apartment-style lodging units for troops mobilized to the nation’s capital. Blanchard said it will save the National Guard about $90 million and allow troops to be “closer and more responsive” to their mission areas. The number of troops will drop over the next few weeks and begin transitioning to the next phase, Blanchard said. Though few details were shared, the next step includes transitioning into neighborhoods such as Anacostia and Trinidad.
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